Sofa!

We found a sofa on Craigslist on Saturday. It happened to be only a few blocks north of our place... so we carried it home. With multiple rest breaks along the way. 100 bucks!

Zorro REALLY wants to help Brad take a nap on it...

The New Roof - a fundraiser

So this is far from as philanthropic as the title makes it sound...

As some of you may recall, our house came with a few pieces of abandoned furniture and a bunch of doodads and knickknacks. And we don't want 'em.

So over the next few weeks, I'm gonna try to sell it all. Craigslist, Ebay, Ebay Classifieds, Apartment Therapy Classifieds, Etsy. I'm calling it our New Roof Fundraiser... 'cause we need a new roof. And new roofs cost money.

We could also stand for a new sofa:

And a chandelier:

I'll keep y'all updated.

Urban Heat Island Effect

Sorry we haven’t posted for a little while, we’ve been busy getting estimates for electrical, plumbing, HVAC, plastering, and a new roof.

One of the biggest problems with traditional asphalt shingle roofs is they attract a lot of heat. This causes two problems.

1. Contributes to Urban Heat Island Effect (UHI)

2. An increase in annual utility bills

UHI occurs in metropolitan areas and is essentially a micro-climate version of global warming. Beyond the obvious problem of creating an increase in utilities during summer months, UHI causes modifications to wind patterns, an increase in precipitation in and downwind of cities, and even an increase in pollution. While I do not have any statistics on hand, I have seen numerous different statistics and documentation on these matters.

For those of you who believe Fox News over scientists and that global warming is fake, you can’t argue against saving money off your utilities. A lighter more reflective surface will drastically decrease your monthly payments compared to a traditional asphalt shingle roof.

We decided to go with a light-colored standing-seam metal roof. These roofs are economical, durable, and they will look good on our house. From snow to sun exposure to hail, standing-seam metal roofs hold up very well in extreme climates (such as Chicago). Additionally, they have an excellent SRI (solar reflective index). So as a result we will have a good looking roof that is durable, economical, and earth friendly.